About AIS

The American International School of Kuwait (AIS) is a private, independent, IB Continuum school providing an inquiry-based and conceptually-framed engaging learning environment for students from Pre-K through Grade 12. AIS has been positively impacting the Kuwait educational community for 26 years and is extremely proud to develop global citizens.

ACADEMICS

The American International School of Kuwait (AIS) offers an educational program that provides students continuous opportunities to develop the thinking skills required of the 21st century workplace. Our program personalizes the student learning experience to ensure students develop attitudes that are caring and balanced and become the knowledgeable citizens they aspire to be.

STUDENT LIFE

The American International School of Kuwait (AIS) offers students rewarding opportunities to be challenged during and beyond the school day. From after-school clubs to athletic and activities programs, students can develop their collaborative skills to excel as a whole individual. We believe that a student is inherently more connected with the school when they are encouraged to develop connections in a variety of meaningful ways.

Admissions

The American International School of Kuwait (AIS) invites alumni, families with siblings who already attend AIS, and new families to join our AIS family. We look forward to your interest and look forward to meeting you at AIS!

Work At AIS

The American International School of Kuwait (AIS) offers educators a wonderful opportunity to develop their talents and be supported through coaching and ongoing professional learning engagements. Our AIS staff are multinational and multifaceted and each member of our large staff contribute to the ideal learning environments we create for students.

DP CAS

Creativity, Activity, Service(CAS)

Core Content

For the award of a Diploma, students are required to make a substantial contribution over the two years of the Diploma Programme in pursuit of activities which can be classed as Creativity, Activity or Service (CAS).

CAS requires students to take part in a range of experiences and at least one project. These should involve:

The IB do not prescribe specific projects or activities to students. All students should be involved in activities they've initiated themselves.

Requirements

Schools monitor students' progress against a set of specified learning outcomes. The IB samples school records on a random basis. No Diploma Points are awarded for CAS but a student who fails to complete the requirements is not eligible to be awarded a Diploma.

The CAS programme aims to develop students who are:

reflective thinkers – they understand their own strengths and limitations, identify goals and devise strategies for personal growth

willing to accept new challenges and new roles

aware of themselves as members of communities with responsibilities towards each other and the environment

active participants in sustained, collaborative projects

balanced – they enjoy and find significance in a range of activities involving intellectual, physical, creative and emotional experiences.

The Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) requirement takes seriously the importance of life outside the world of scholarship, providing a counterbalance to the academic self-absorption some students may feel within a demanding school curriculum. Participation in CAS encourages students to share their energies and special talents while developing awareness, concern and the ability to work cooperatively with others. The Diploma goal of educating the whole person and fostering more caring and socially responsible attitudes comes alive in an immediate way when students reach beyond themselves and their books. The educational benefits of CAS apply in the school community, and in the local, national and international communities.

CAS should extend the students. It should challenge them to develop a value system by which they enhance their personal growth. It should develop a spirit of open-mindedness, lifelong learning, discovery and self-reliance. It should encourage the development of new skills on many levels: for example, creative skills, physical skills and social skills. It should inspire a sense of responsibility towards all members of the community. It should also encourage the development of attitudes and traits that will be respected by others, such as determination and commitment, initiative and empathy.

Although there are three elements to CAS, it is important not to consider them as mutually exclusive. CAS is about the education of the whole person, and the three elements are therefore interwoven. Together, they enable a student to recognize that there are many opportunities in life, away from formal academic study, to grow in knowledge of life, self and others. Creative and physical activities are particularly important for adolescents (probably more so than for any other age group) because popular culture informs and shapes their desires and values. There are also pursuits which offer much opportunity for fun and enjoyment at a time which is, for many young people, full of stress and uncertainty. The service element of CAS is, in itself, the most significant, but the two other elements are also very important, as they provide access, balance, and flexibility to meet individual students' interests and preferences. However, even more important in the model is that it is not just a matter of three individual parts: uniquely in the IB Diploma Programme it is the interaction of them all that creates the richness of CAS. The whole of CAS is greater than the sum of its parts.

This focus on learning outcomes emphasizes that it is the quality of a CAS experience (its contribution to the student’s development) that is of most importance. The guideline for the minimum amount of CAS experience is one hour per week for the duration of the program, which is a minimum of eighteen continuous months.